


The Music In Me

by dykemoons



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, F/F, First Meetings, High School Musical AU, Karaoke, Meet-Cute, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24656095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dykemoons/pseuds/dykemoons
Summary: Rey is a jock. Rose is a book worm.Neither of them have an interest in singing, but when they get roped into singing karaoke together on New Years' Eve, could it be the start of something new for them both?
Relationships: Rey/Rose Tico
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	The Music In Me

“WOOO!”

Rey pumped her fist in the air as she skated around the net and back towards where Luke stood shaking his head.

“How much is that now? Eight - Nothing?” she taunted.

“If only all your opponents were as old and slow as me.” 

Rey smiled wider. “They might as well be when I’m this good.”

Luke skated over to the net to retrieve the puck. “Don’t get cocky, kid.”

“What was cocky was you two idiots thinking I’d let you spend all night out here alone.”

Rey winced and turned around to see Leia standing on the edge of the pond.

“It's New Years’ Eve and you two have spent enough time this week on the ice. Come on, it's party time.” Leia said.

“When have you known us to be party people?” Rey asked.

“Never, which is why I’m not surprised I’m out here pulling your legs.” Leia replied with a smirk. “Both of you get inside and get changed. Luke, your husband is waiting for you downstairs. Rey, there’s a kid’s party in the upstairs lounge.”

“...Kids party?” Rey questioned with the slightest whine in her voice.

“Young Adult. Teens. People your age. Go have fun.”

Luke skated up behind Rey as they made their way up to the snow bank where Leia stood. “You gonna let her boss you around like that?” he asked playfully.

“Of course she is, I’m her legal guardian. It's the law.” Leia threw back.

Rey shrugged at Luke. “It's the law, what can you do?” Rey turned back to Leia and gave her a wink.

Leia put her arm around Rey and pulled her close as they walked toward the lodge. “I don’t know what I was thinking letting my brother corrupt you with his sports nonsense.”

“Well, I’m glad you did.”

  
  


____________________

  
  


“Oooooooh, who is that outfit for? That cute ski instructor? What was her name?” Rose Tico teased her sister Paige as she emerged from the bathroom in a pair of black skinny jeans and a fancy red blouse. Paige was wearing a bit more make-up than Rose had remembered seeing on her in awhile, and her usually messy undercut was carefully combed in place.

“Hey, I’m allowed to get dressed up just for myself, and if Natalie appreciates it as well, then good for her.” Paige replied with mock indignation. 

“Yeah, sure, okay.” Rose smirked back. 

“Hey, put that book away, if I have to go to a party so do you.”

Rose groaned. “But you actually like parties, I like not being at parties.”

“Come on. It's the last night of vacation. You should socialize, meet new people.” Paige said as she walked around the room, grabbing her phone and roomkey from the bedside table.

“Seems like all I do is meet new people.” Rose muttered under her breath. Paige stopped in her tracks and turned back to her sister. Rose silently cursed herself for saying anything as Paige walked over and sat on the bed next to her.

“Hey,” Paige said softly. “I’m really sorry you’ve had to go through all this. I know it sucks moving so much, starting new schools all the time. But I promise this is the last time. I told my supervisor I can’t get another transfer until you graduate.”

“Really?” Rose embraced her sister. “Thank you. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to complain. I know you’re doing so much for me.”

Rose hugged her sister tighter, not wanting to seem ungrateful. She knew Paige had given up a lot to take care of her in the past few years since they had lost their parents.

“Hey, it's all for us. We stick together, right?” Paige leaned over and gave Rose a kiss on her forehead. 

“Always. But still, thank you. I know it's been hard for you too. And hey, at least you got transferred to a location with a cool winter company retreat.”

The winter break had been good for the Tico sisters. They moved into their latest apartment in their latest city just in time to have a nice quiet Christmas together, and just after joined Paige’s new coworkers for a retreat to the Ski Lodge where they were currently staying. 

“I’m really glad you had fun.” Paige gave Rose one last squeeze and stood back up from the bed. “It’s the last night, you should do what you want. You don’t have to go to the party if you don’t want to.” 

Rose stood up suddenly. “No, I’ll go. You’re right, it could be fun to meet new people.” 

“Really? That’s good! I hope it's fun! I should go though, I’m supposed to meet Natalie, uh...” Paige stared for a moment at her watchless wrist. “Soon.”

“Then go!” Rose exclaimed. “Please, go have fun, you deserve it.”

Once her sister had left, Rose gave herself another five minutes in the room before trudging down to the kids party, hoping that Paige would have a better time than she expected to. 

  
  


____________________

  
  
  


Rey leaned against the wall in the corner of the room that held the Teen Party, nursing her second cup of punch. She looked at the clock again. Just twenty minutes to midnight, then everyone would cheer and she could leave. 

The party had been about what she expected. All the kids were here on vacation from different parts of the world. There was no way of knowing who she had enough in common with to talk to, and it hardly mattered since everyone would be going home soon. And Rey had never been very good at socializing anyways. She didn’t have friends growing up, and the good friends she had now had only happened because of hockey. She was almost ready to steal another glance at the clock when a voice over the microphone interrupted her thoughts. 

“Alright, who’s ready to rock the house next?” The overenthusiastic host/DJ of the kids party motioned to the karaoke machine beside him, and looked to the scattered crowd for volunteers. 

Rey chuckled. She felt bad for this guy, whoever had been assigned to run the kids party for the resort. She couldn’t imagine who thought karaoke would be a good idea for it either. Barely anyone knew each other, and very few had wanted to sing in front of a crowd of strangers in the past hour that Rey had been there, and the few partakers had been middling singers at best. 

“No volunteers? Oh, come on, it’ll be the last song of the year! No? I guess we’ll have to choose some singers then.”

Ooof. Rey groaned. The only thing worse than voluntary karaoke had to be involuntary karaoke. She felt bad for the poor souls that would be forced to go up on the makeshift stage and perform for everyone.

And then a spotlight from across the room turned directly on her and blinded her eyes. 

Before she knew what was happening, Rey felt herself being pulled forward to the center of the room by the crowd. “Wait, Wh-” Suddenly she was standing on the stage with a mike in the hand that used to hold her drink. 

Rey looked around frantically and found the host. “No, I can’t sing for everyone, I don’t sing.” She was halfway through her protest when suddenly another girl appeared on the stage with her, looking even more frantic and terrified than Rey felt. 

Rey wanted to continue to express her disagreement with the situation, but she found herself momentarily stunned at how cute the girl by her side was. She was a head shorter than Rey, her messy dark hair kept out of her face in a loose bun, thick rimmed glasses sat on her nose, and she wore a Christmas sweater featuring a bunch of Pokemon characters. If she had seen the girl casually at the party, she would have been too nervous to even go near her for the rest of the night. But now they were next to each other on stage, apparently about to sing a duet.

Rey tried to give her a comforting look, then turned back to glare at the host. He came over and pulled her into a huddle with him and the other girl. “You know, someday you might thank me for this.” Rey glared even harder. “Or not.” The man pointed to Rey as he walked away, and Rey suddenly saw lyrics for Singer #1 appear on the screen in front of her, which she figured must be herself from the man’s gesture.

Soft piano notes began to flow from the speakers. _Oh god, is this really happening? What do I do?_ Rey panicked. Her eyes darted between the lyrics on the screen and the teens in the audience, half apathetic, half excited for them to fail epicly. 

Her eyes finally locked with the girl next to her, who looked more freaked out by the second, and then suddenly Rey knew she had to sing. If the girl wanted to run out on her, that was fine, but she wasn’t going to be the one to embarrass this girl by leaving her alone up there. She turned back to the screen and mustered her best singing voice as the lyrics began to light up.

_Living in my own world, didn’t understand_

_That anything can happen, when you take a chance_

Rey turned away as she finished her first lines, her stomach turning with embarrassment. She thought it sounded terrible, and of course it would, she wasn’t a singer. She was ready to run off stage, smash through a window, burrow herself in a snowbank, and hide away forever, when she heard an angelic voice quietly begin singing behind her.

_I never believed in, what I couldn’t see,_

_I never opened my heart, to all the possibilities_

Rey spun around, stunned to see the pretty girl meekly singing into her microphone. She was once again stunned to find herself so close to such a perfect girl, who apparently also had a perfect voice. She almost didn’t want to ruin this girl’s amazing singing with her own, but Rey figured she was all in and couldn’t back out of the duet now, and rejoined her as they continued the song. 

_I know, that something has changed_

_Never felt this way_

_And right here tonight,_

_This could be the Start of Something New,_

_It feels so right, to be here with you, Oooh_

_And now, looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_The Start of Something New_

Rey couldn’t help the smile that broke on her face as they tumbled into the chorus. _Wait, is this actually going...okay?_ Rey wondered. The blend of their voices seemed to sound good, and she even saw a few people in the crowd begin to smile and sway along with the song. She locked eyes with her mysterious duet partner and smiled even wider. She could see the fear in her eyes disappearing as they went further into the song.

  
  


____________________

  
  


Rose Tico felt completely outside her body as she began to sing the second verse of the song with the random stranger on stage with her. She had no idea how she had ended up in this situation, and had no idea what was going to happen next. It was terrifying and exhilarating. 

Barely a minute ago, she had been sitting on a couch absentmindedly watching the action of a video game a couple younger boys were playing on one of the TV screens along the walls, when a light shone in her eyes and she felt herself pulled up and over to the stage in the center of the room. It was only when she felt the microphone pushed into her hand that she realized she was being roped into singing karaoke.

Rose panicked immediately, seeing her worst fear coming true before her eyes. She hadn’t brought herself to talk to anyone at the party in normal conversation, and now she was, what, going to sing for them all? She wondered if she had fallen asleep on the couch and was now in a nightmare. Rose looked down to her legs. _At least I’m wearing pants,_ she thought. 

Rose looked around for an escape route, only to find another girl standing next to her, apparently there to be her duet partner. She froze in place, unsure of her next move. Was it okay to run off and leave this girl hanging? Would she be embarrassed? Was it even possible to embarrass a girl that pretty? The girl also looked scared and annoyed, would she be doing them both a favor if she bolted?

The girl’s looks only muddled Rose’s brain even more. She was so tall that Rose’s head only came up to her shoulder. A few strands of her light brown hair fell in her face, the rest held up in three tight buns on the back of her head. She wore a loose hoodie and jeans, but from the way the clothes hung, Rose could see she was pretty muscular underneath. She couldn’t tell if the girl was a skater, a jock, or both. Either way, she was very pretty, and Rose wasn’t sure if she wanted to run far away or stay as close to her as possible. 

By the time the music started, Rose was leaning towards running, when the girl next to her actually began to sing. _Great, her voice is as pretty as she is_ , Rose thought. She then realized she had no choice but to sing as well. If this girl was risking herself on this ill-advised duet, then Rose couldn’t leave her hanging. 

And now here she was, actually fully singing in front of a crowd with another person. Rose could see the other girl getting more into it as the song went along, beginning to move around the stage and swing her arms with the music. She found herself warming up as the other girl did, not quite matching her enthusiasm, but still having a good time. Even the crowd was enjoying themselves, many people clapping along with the song, and a few even starting to dance. It was completely surreal, to be doing a performance for other people she didn’t know, and actually having fun doing it. 

Rose locked eyes with her duet partner as the song came to an end and they sang their final notes. She heard the other partygoers explode into cheers and applause as the song ended, but Rose couldn’t take her eyes away from the girl in front of her. After a long moment of staring into her eyes, Rose saw the girl’s lips move, but she couldn’t quite catch the sound. “What?” she leaned forward to hear over the noise.

The girl leaned in as well and smiled wide. “I’m Rey.” 

“Oh. Of course. I’m Rose.” She awkwardly extended her hand, and felt Rey’s strong hand slip into her own and give her a strong shake. Unable to think past her own name from the crazy events of the last five minutes, Rose was content to continue to shake Rey’s hand and stare into her warm eyes until she could think of anything else to do.

  
  


____________________

  
  
  


“I mean, that was crazy, right?” Rey asked, still in complete shock. She now stood out on the balcony overlooking the ski slopes with the girl, who she now knew was called Rose, talking about their performance. 

“Yeah, I...totally insane.” Rose laughed and looked up at Rey. “I mean, you were amazing. Do you sing a lot?”

Rey scoffed. “Me? Oh no, I don’t sing like that. Or at all, really. I’m sure my showerhead is very impressed, but that’s it. What about you? You must be a professional or something.”

Rose laughed again. “No way! I can’t deal with that many people looking at me. I once tried to sing at a school choir concert in the third grade. I took one look at the crowd and suddenly I was staring at the ceiling. End of my solo career. My sister still has that video somewhere..”

“Well, you made it through without passing out tonight.” Rey said. “And your voice, it’s...beautiful.” Rey tried to smile earnestly when the girl seemed taken aback by the compliment. 

“Really? I don’t think, I mean. Thank you, is what I mean.” Rose stuttered out.

Before she could say anything else, Rey heard the crowd inside begin chanting numbers down from ten. “Oh, I guess it's almost...Ooof.” Rey was cut off as someone bumped her from behind and she fell forward into Rose. She caught herself on Rose’s arm, and felt Rose grab her other forearm to help steady her. “Sorry, I-” 

Rey forgot how to speak as she realized that they were now so close that she was now pushing Rose’s back into the railing. Rey could feel the heat of Rose’s body warming her own in the cold air of midnight. She knew she should probably back away, but was the grip Rose had on her arm getting tighter? Rey looked into Rose’s warm, excited eyes and all the breath left her lungs.

Rey froze, not knowing what to do. Just for a second, Rey saw Rose’s eyes break from her own and dart downwards just a little. 

_Wait, was she looking at my..._ Rey couldn’t resist taking a glance down of her own. Rose’s lips looked soft and welcoming, bare except for the shine of what Rey thought was probably a little lip gloss. Rey’s brain raced with thoughts of what Rose’s lips would feel like against her own. Their faces were only inches apart and Rey thought it looked like Rose was slowly pushing closer....

“Three...Two...One...HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Rey was jolted from her daze by the loud booms of fireworks exploding from atop the highest ski slope, bright colors lighting up the night sky. 

Rey quickly took a half step back and loosened her grip on Rose’s arm. “Sorry, I...I uh...fell.”

Rose’s eyes went wide and quickly darted away from Rey’s. “Uh, its, uh, fine. Glad I caught you.”

The girls stood in silence for a moment, not knowing what to do next as people cheered and yelled all around them. 

“Well, uh, I should probably go find my sister, wish her a Happy New Year.” Rose said finally. 

“Yea, yea, me too.” Rey replied, happy for a break in the silence. “I mean, not your sister. My own, uh, people.” 

Even with this new plan, the girls still held in place, realizing this meant the end of their interaction. Rey knew it was awkward now and they should go, but she couldn’t forget the feeling of singing with this girl, and she couldn’t stand the idea that they wouldn’t ever see each other again. 

“Hey, so I’m leaving pretty early tomorrow, but, can I...call you?” Rey held her phone out, hoping Rose would go along even if it was a long shot that they’d actually reconnect over the phone.

“Oh, sure! Sure! Here,” Rose pulled out her own phone and held it up to Rey’s face. “Smile.” She snapped a quick picture of Rey’s face, pressed a few buttons to attach the photo to a new contact profile, and handed it to Rey.

Rey quickly typed her number into the slot, and looked up to see Rose using her phone to snap a quick selfie and add her information as well. 

Rey took her phone back and smiled at Rose again. “Well, I had fun, so thanks. Happy New Year.”

Rey’s heart melted as she saw Rose’s lips curl into her beautiful smile once again. “Yea, I had fun too. Happy New Year.”

They stood in another long silence as they still didn’t want to leave. Finally Rose started walking back towards the door to the inside. Rey turned to watch her go, and was glad she did as Rose turned back at the last moment to give her a small wave before disappearing into the crowd. 

When she was gone, Rey fell against the railing and let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“Woah.” Rey whispered under her breath.

  
  


____________________

  
  
  


Rose awoke the next morning a little before sunrise. The room was still dark, with the only sliver of light coming from the cracked bathroom door, where Rose could hear the shower running. 

She clicked her phone on to check the time, and sighed as she gave up trying to rest for the night.

She had gone straight back to her room after leaving Rey on the balcony. Paige hadn’t been in the room, so Rose assumed she must have been still enjoying her party, and after a while tried going to sleep. It had been a restless night though as she couldn’t stop thinking about the party, the singing, and especially the girl.

The same thoughts filled her head again as she heard the shower turn off in the adjacent room. It really had been incredible, singing with Rey. She never would have imagined herself performing in front of people, but there was something about singing with Rey that warmed her inside, made her feel right about herself for the first time in a long while.

It was thoughts of the balcony afterwards that haunted her most. She knew Rey falling into her was an accident, but Rose could feel the electricity flowing between them as soon as they got close. 

In a moment that felt like it lasted years, she had instinctively held Rey in place against her, and got lost in her beautiful brown eyes. For a split second she wondered if Rey was going to close the distance between them and kiss her at the strike of midnight. She thought through that moment over and over now as she lay in bed. Was Rey really about to kiss her, even though they had just met? Even crazier, had Rose wanted Rey to kiss her, even though she had just met her?

Rose heard the bathroom door creak open, and saw Paige tiptoe out across the room, wrapped in a towel with her hair still dripping wet. She reached into her bag and began searching for clothes. 

“Happy New Year.” Rose croaked out, making Paige jump in surprise. 

“Oh, my god, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t, it's fine.” Rose smiled up at her sister.

“Okay. Happy New Year.” Paige blew a kiss to Rose from across the room as she grabbed a tshirt and sweatpants and jogged back to the bathroom. 

“Did you have fun last night?” Rose called after her, noting that Paige’s bed was still made perfectly from the night before. 

“I did, in fact, and you get absolutely no details whatsoever.” The bathroom light flicked off and Paige reemerged, now wearing the outfit she had carried in. Paige flopped down onto her bed and rolled onto her side to face Rose. “What about you? Did you have fun? Meet anybody nice?”

Rose couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she thought of Rey. 

“Oooooooh, you did! Come on, spill!” 

“Well, I did meet a nice girl..” Rose laughed as she tried to figure out the impossibly weird events of the party. 

“And????” Paige asked excitedly.

“And...she was cool, we had fun. I’m not sure what else to say, we’re both going home today, I’ll probably never see her again. But yea, it was fun.”

“Did you at least get her number?” Rose tossed her phone over in response, and Paige clicked it open to find Rey’s contact page still open from when Rose had gone back to stare at it throughout the night. 

“Oh, she’s cute...Rey...hmmm.” Paige tossed the phone back. “You should call her. You never know, maybe she lives close to us.” 

“Probably not, she had a British accent.” 

“Still, I think it's worth a shot. Either way, I’m happy you had fun.” Paige smiled warmly at her sister for a moment before a large yawn broke over her face. “But I should probably get a few hours sleep if I’m gonna drive us home today.” 

Rose laughed. “Yeah, probably.” 

As girls turned over to try to get some rest, Rose couldn’t resist taking one last look at the picture of Rey and thinking of their encounter before finally turning her phone off, her thoughts turning to the new day and new year ahead, and to the long drive that awaited them on their way back home to Albuquerque.

____________________

  
  


Rey leaned against the passenger door of Leia’s black SUV. She glanced down a few spaces to see Luke and Han arguing over how to stuff their bags into the trunk of Luke’s car. She rolled her eyes and chuckled at their ridiculous bickering. 

After another minute of waiting, Rey pulled her phone out and unlocked it to once again stare at the newest addition to her contacts. She had come back to it often in the hours since midnight, wondering if it was worth calling or texting Rose, if she should bother trying to see her again in the short time they would both still be at the resort. 

Rey knew it was ridiculous to obsess over someone she had only just met, but she couldn’t escape the feelings of last night. Singing with Rose was the most free and purely happy Rey had felt in a long time, comparable only to how she felt when she laced up her skates and flew across a fresh sheet of ice, no stick or teams, just herself, the ice, and the wind blowing through her hair. Rey hadn’t thought anything else in the world could make her feel like that, but somehow singing publicly did. Rose did.

Rey sighed again as she caught herself again staring at the selfie Rose had left on her phone. Her face was illuminated in rainbow from the fireworks, her cheeks flushed from the cold, a bit of foggy breath escaping from her soft smile. At the moment, Rey couldn’t fathom a prettier picture in existence. 

Rey danced her thumb over the call button once again, considering. This would be her last chance before she left the lodge. While still debating, she looked up and her eyes caught a familiar red sweater a few hundred feet away across the parking lot. She squinted and saw Rose walking between cars side by side with a taller, slightly older woman, who Rey assumed was the sister she had mentioned. 

Rey considered calling out or running over there, but quickly gave up as she realized she had no clue what to say. They had a brief experience that Rey thought had to be something special, but she had no clue if Rose felt the same, and there was no getting past the fact that they were both leaving to go to their separate homes, literally right this second. 

Rey watched as Rose and her sister walked over to a red sedan, threw their bags in the back seat, climbed in front, and drove off and out of sight. Rey thought that her only hope now was for fate to intervene and bring them back together somehow. Or maybe she’d get lucky and Rose would just call her. 

Just then, Leia emerged from the front doors of the resort and walked over to Rey. “Alright, finally checked out. You ready to go?”

“Yup.”

Leia stopped for a moment. “You alright, Rey?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just tired.” Rey tried to push the thoughts of Rose from her mind and smiled up at Leia. “Hey, Leia, thanks for this, I had a lot of fun this week.”

Leia returned her smile. “Good, I’m glad. Sometimes I think you’ve got too much on your plate, with school work and hockey practice, I was hoping you could get some time to relax.” 

“I did, this whole break has been pretty nice.”

“Great. Ready to go home?”

“Oh, definitely.” Rey climbed into the passenger seat and yawned as she settled into the soft seat for their long ride back home to Albuquerque.

**Author's Note:**

> I have some ideas of how I might continue this, including how other Star Wars characters will fit into this dynamic, but I'm leaving it as a one-shot for now until I decide to actually write another chapter.


End file.
